Close on the heels of a thorough inspection conducted by a team of officials under the direction of Principal Director at the Local Self-Government Department (LSGD), the State government is now planning to launch a detailed inquiry by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) into the allegations of fund misappropriation in the Kottayam Municipality.

Replying to a submission raised by Poonjar legislator Sebastian Kulathungal in the Assembly, Local Self-Governments Minister M.B. Rajesh said steps will be taken to conduct a police vigilance investigation into the matter to ascertain the extent and depth of the irregularities and to take criminal action against the people involved in it.

“As this is a long-standing irregularity and involves many employees and other responsible persons, a detailed investigation is required. Based on the investigation conducted by the Administration department and the Vigilance department, strict action will be taken against those responsible,” the Minister said.

Following instructions from the LSGD Principal Director, a high-level team of officials led by the Senior Finance Officer and including technical experts, conducted an inspection in the Kottayam Municipality from February 4 to 7. Noting that the preliminary report revealed serious irregularities and corruption in the civic body, the Minister said the municipal secretary was directed to provide a detailed reply and documents based on the report given by the inspection team.

The Minister also pointed out that major irregularities were found in an earlier inspection conducted by an internal vigilance officer from August 6 last year as directed by the LSGD joint director.

Upon examining the reconciliation documents, it was found that crores of rupees recorded as receipts through cheques over the years had not been received in the relevant bank accounts of the municipality. Since the cheques and draft register was not maintained, it was not possible to verify the authenticity of the cheques recorded as received.

Since the reconciliation of various banks has not been completed in a timely manner, there was substantial disparity between the amounts shown in most of the accounts and the actual deposits made. Despite requests for information on the employees responsible for managing accounts from time to time, it was not made available to the inspection team. Approximately more than ₹200 crore has not been received in the banks, the Minister pointed out.

In view of these findings, a high-level team of officials, led by the Senior Finance Officer and including technical experts, conducted an inspection at the Kottayam Municipality as directed by the LSGD joint director.